OXFORD CAMBRIDGE AND RSA EXAMINATIONS

Advanced GCE

PHYSICS B (ADVANCING PHYSICS)

2865/01

Advances in Physics
22 JUNE 2006

Thursday

Afternoon

1 hour 30 minutes

Candidates answer on the question paper.

Additional materials:
Insert (Advance Notice Article for this question paper)
Data, Formulae and Relationships Booklet
Electronic calculator

Candidate Name

TIME

Centre Number

Candidate
Number

1 hour 30 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Write your name in the space above.

Write your Centre number and Candidate number in the boxes above.

Answer all the questions.

Write your answers in the spaces provided on the question paper.

Read each question carefully and make sure you know what you have
to do before starting your answer.

Show clearly the working in all calculations, and give answers to only a
justifiable number of significant figures.

FOR EXAMINERS USE

Qu.

Max

12

10

Section A (questions 16) is based on the Advance Notice article, a

copy of which is included as an insert. You are advised to spend about
60 minutes on Section A.

11

10

The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question

or part question.

There are four marks for the quality of written communication on this
paper.

15

12

QWC

TOTAL

90

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

The values of standard physical constants are given in the Data,

Formulae and Relationships booklet. Any additional data required are
given in the appropriate question.

Mark

This question paper consists of 20 printed pages and an insert.

SP (SLM/JG) S93895/4
OCR 2006 [D/100/3711]

Registered Charity Number: 1066969

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

For
Examiners
Use

2
Answer all the questions.
Section A
The questions in this section are based on the Advance Notice article.
You are advised not to spend more than 60 minutes on this section.

This question is about an early theory of the Suns energy source (lines 1923 in the
article).
(a) A solar water heating panel of area 3 m2 on a house roof is perpendicular to the solar
radiation.
Water flows through the panel at a rate of 0.17 kg s1. The temperature of the water
increases by 4 C when it flows through the panel.
(i)

Show that the solar energy absorbed by the panel in 1 second is about 3000 J.
specific thermal capacity of water c = 4200 J kg1 C1

[2]
(ii)

Calculate the solar power per square metre absorbed by the 3 m2 panel.

[1]
(iii)

The solar power per square metre arriving at the outer surface of the Earths
atmosphere is 1400 W m2.
Suggest why your answer to part (ii) is different from this.

[1]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

3
(iv)

At the Earths distance from the Sun, the energy emitted by the Sun each second
passes through the surface of a sphere of area 2.8
10 23 m2 , as shown in Fig. 1.1.

For
Examiners
Use

A diagram has been removed due to third party copyright restrictions

Details: A diagram of a sphere with the Earth on the edge of the sphere and
the Sun in the centre. The Sun is a distance 1.5 x 10^11m from the Earth

Fig. 1.1
Use the value given in
about 4 10 26 W.

(a)(iii) to show that the total power emitted by the Sun is

[2]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

For
Examiners
Use

4
(b) Fig. 1.2 shows a meteor at point Y before it falls into the Sun.
RX
RY

Y
meteor

Sun
Fig. 1.2

The gravitational potential difference VXY between points X and Y is given by

VXY = GM GM
RX
RY
(i)

Explain why, when R Y 100 RX, VXY GM

RX

equation 1

equation 2

[1]
(ii)

Use equation 2 above to show that the gravitational potential difference between
the surface of the Sun and a distant point is about 2 1011 J kg1.
11 N m2 kg2
G
= 106.7
M = 2.0 1030 kg
RX = 7.0 108 m

[2]
(iii)

Explain why the kinetic energy gained when a distant meteor of mass 1 kg falls to
the Suns surface is about 2 1011 J.

[1]
(iv)

Calculate the total mass of meteors that would need to fall into the Sun every
second to provide the 4 1026 W that the Sun emits.

mass per second ........................................kg s1 [2]

[Total: 12]
2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

5
2

This question is about the modern theory of the Suns energy source (lines 4154 in the
article).

For
Examiners
Use

Fig. 2.1 shows stage 1 of the series of nuclear reactions taking place in the Suns core.
Key
neutron
proton
positron
neutrino
Fig. 2.1
(a) Complete the balanced equation for the nuclear reaction shown in Fig. 2.1.
......
......
0
1
1
H
+
H
H
+

1
1
......
................ + 0

[2]

(b) Stage 2 of the series of nuclear reactions in the Suns core is

2
H
1

(i)

+ 1H 2He +

Use the table of data following to show that the mass of the products of this reaction
is about 9 1030 kg less than the mass of the reactants.
nuclear species

mass/u

1
1H

1.00728

2
1H

2.01410

3
2He

3.01605

u = 1.67 1027 kg

[2]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

For
Examiners
Use

6
(ii)

Show that about 8 1013 J of energy is produced in a reaction of this type.

c = 3. 0 108 m s1

[2]
(c) The series of nuclear reactions in the proton-proton chain liberates 4.3 1012 J for
1
every four protons ( 1H) fused into one helium-4 nucleus.
(i)

Show that the energy produced by the fusion of 1 kg of hydrogen is about

6 1014 J.
27 kg
mass
of
m
proton,
p = 1.67 10

[2]
(ii)

Show that the Sun can produce energy at 4 1026 W for several billion years
(lines 5153 in the article), assuming that 2.0 1029 kg of hydrogen is available for
fusion.
7s
1 eary
= 103.2

[2]
[Total: 10]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

For
Examiners
Use

7
3

This question is about objects orbiting the Sun (lines 86105 in the article).
(a) The space observatory SOHO orbits the Sun in a circular orbit as shown in Fig. 3.1.

Sun
SOHO

Earth

not to scale
Fig. 3.1
It is possible to show that the speed v of an isolated object in a circular orbit of radius R
GM
where M is the mass of the Sun.
about the Sun is given by v =
R
(i)

Draw a ring around each of the two equations below which would be used to prove
this relationship.

2
F = mv
R

F = GMm
R2

kinetic energy = 2 mv 2

potential energy = GMm

R
[1]

(ii)

GM
would predict that SOHO should orbit the Sun
R
in less than the period of the Earth (1 year).

Explain why the equation v =

[2]
(iii)

Draw and label arrows showing the gravitational forces acting on SOHO on Fig. 3.1
above.
[1]

(iv)

Explain why the equation v =

above.

GM
does not apply to SOHO in the position shown
R

[2]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

For
Examiners
Use

8
(b) Comet Halley orbits the Sun in an elliptical orbit (Fig. 3.2).
comet tail
comet nucleus
P

Sun

orbit of comet Halley

Fig. 3.2
At point A, comet Halley is 60 times further from the Sun than it is at point P.
State which one of the values below gives the following ratio.
the magnitude of the force on comet Halley at point A
the magnitude of the force on comet Halley at point P
1
3600

1
60

60

3600

ratio ...................................................[1]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

9
(c) The dust tail of a comet (lines 106115 in the article) points away from the Sun as
shown in Fig. 3.3

For
Examiners
Use

dust tail
nucleus

To S
u

orbital path

Fig. 3.3
(i)

Explain why the tail points away from the Sun.

[2]
(ii)

Explain why the tail curves in the direction shown in Fig. 3.3.

[2]
[Total: 11]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

For
Examiners
Use

10
4

This question is about sunspots (lines 5677 in the article).

(a) Use Fig. 2 in the article to calculate the mean sunspot period between 1750 and 2000.

[1]
(b) The energy per second emitted by hot objects like the Sun is given by
power emitted = A T 4
where A is the area of the surface, is a constant and T is the temperature.
(i)

Show that the power emitted by a sunspot at 4000 K is about 20% of the power
emitted by an identical area of the Suns photosphere at 5800 K.

[2]
(ii)

The planet Mercury is close to the Sun and appears as a bright star near the
horizon just before sunrise or just after sunset. From the Earth, Mercury looks about
the same size as a sunspot. Mercury reflects only 10% of the solar radiation that
strikes it.
Explain why Mercury appears bright while sunspots appear dark.

[2]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

11
(c) The large magnetic flux density in sunspots is due to loops of the Suns magnetic field
escaping as shown in Fig. 4.1 below (lines 6975 in the article).

For
Examiners
Use

surface
of Sun
sunspots
Fig. 4.1
(i)

The flux density at point P is greater than that at Q.

Explain how the diagram shows this.

[1]
(ii)

Suggest why sunspots often occur in pairs, as shown in Fig. 4.1.

[2]
(iii)

Each sunspot in Fig. 4.1 has about the same cross-sectional area as the Earth
(1.3 1014 m2).
The magnetic flux in the sunspot is 2.0 1013 Wb.
Calculate the average flux density B in the sunspot.

B = .............................. unit ............ [2]

[Total: 10]
2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

12
5

This question is about charged particles arriving at the Earth (lines 131147 in the article).
(a) A Coronal Mass Ejection leaves the Sun at 500 km s1.
Show that this takes about 3 days to reach the Earth.
Earth-Sun distance = 1.5 1011 m

[2]
(b) (i)

Explain why a proton moving perpendicular to magnetic field lines travels in a

circular path (Fig. 5.1).

magnetic field line

into diagram

proton
Fig. 5.1

[2]
2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

For
Examiners
Use

For
Examiners
Use

13
(ii)

Protons arrive at the Earth at an angle to the Earths magnetic field. They have a
component of velocity vy perpendicular to the magnetic field, and a component
parallel to the magnetic field (Fig. 5.2).

vx

magnetic field line

Vy
proton
Vx

proton

F ig. 5. 2

F ig. 5. 3

Explain why protons follow the helical path shown in Fig. 5.3.

[2]
(iii)

Auroras (lines 144147 in the article) are seen when a Coronal Mass Ejection
reaches the Earth (Fig. 5.4).

A diagram has been removed due to third party copyright restrictions

Details: A diagram of the Earth showing magnetic field lines and a Coronal
Mass Ejection

Fig. 5.4
Suggest why auroras are seen best near the North and South poles of the Earth.

[2]
[Total: 8]
2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

For
Examiners
Use

14
6

This question is about the solar corona.

(a) The vacuum in a TV tube consists of gas at the extremely low pressure of 1.3 104 Pa.
(i)

Show that 1.0 m3 of gas at this pressure and a temperature of 290 K contains about
5 108 mol.
R = 8.3 J mol1 K1

[2]
(ii)

Calculate the number of particles per m3 in the gas at this low pressure.
NA = 6.0 1023 particles mol1

number = .................................. particles m3

[1]
(iii)

The solar corona contains about 1.6 1014 particles m3.

Explain whether the author of the article is justified in writing By terrestrial
standards, the corona would be described as a superb vacuum (lines 124125 in
the article).

[2]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

15
(b) (i)

Complete the following table to show typical thermal energies kT of protons in the
Suns outer layers.

For
Examiners
Use

k = 1.4 1023 J K1
T /K

kT /J

corona

1 400 000

photosphere

5800
[1]

(ii)

Protons at the surface of the Sun each need 3.2 1016 J to escape from the Suns
surface.
Use the values of kT above to explain why significant numbers of protons can
escape from the corona, but not from the photosphere.

[2]
[Total: 8]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

For
Examiners
Use

16
Section B

This question is about the use of ionising radiation to sterilise food and other products.
(a) Explain what is meant by the term ionising radiation.

[1]
(b) Products can be sterilised either by gamma radiation from a radioactive source or by an
accelerated beam of electrons.
Discuss the relative merits of each of these sources of radiation for sterilising large
boxes of soft fruit such as strawberries.

[2]
(c) A gamma ray source containing cobalt-60 which is used for sterilising food has an
output of 50 kW. The average photon energy is 1.25 MeV.
(i)

Show that 1.25 MeV is 2.0 1013 J.

e = 1.6 1019 C

[2]
(ii)

Calculate the number of photons emitted per second by the 50 kW source.

number = ............................................. s1 [2]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

17
(d) A 50 kW gamma ray source should be able to irradiate about 12 tonnes of food per hour.
The absorbed dose that the food receives is about 4000 gray.
(i)

For
Examiners
Use

Explain what is meant by absorbed dose in gray.

[1]
(ii)

Suggest why only a fraction of the radiation emitted by the source is absorbed by
the food.

[1]
(iii)

Explain why treating food with gamma rays does not make it radioactive.

[2]
(e) Special containers need to be used to transport these gamma ray sources around the
country.
State and explain two physical properties that these containers should possess.

[4]
[Total: 15]

2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

[Turn over

18
This question is about electrical circuits designed to produce very high voltage pulses.
An oscillator supplies an alternating electrical current to coil
A shown in Fig. 8.1. This
produces an alternating magnetic flux which links coil B .

A diagram has been removed due to third party copyright restrictions

Details: A diagram of two coils, an oscillator supplying an alternating electrical
current to coil A and an alternating magnetic flux linking coil B

Fig. 8.1
(a)

The graph of Fig. 8.2 shows the variation of magnetic flux through coil
time.

flux / Wb

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

B plotted against

time / ms

Fig. 8.2
(i)

Show that the frequency of this alternating flux is 5000 Hz.

[2]
(ii)

Explain why using a higher frequency of alternating flux produces a larger induced
voltage in coil B .

[2]
2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net

For
Examiners
Use

19
(b) The alternating voltage from coil B is converted into a d.c. voltage. This voltage charges
the 100 F capacitor shown in Fig. 8.3.

For
Examiners
Use

When the voltage across the capacitor and the spark gap reaches 270 V, a spark forms
and the capacitor discharges rapidly through the primary coil of the transformer T. This
induces a very high voltage pulse across the secondary coil. The process then repeats
as the capacitor charges again.

very high
voltage pulse

d.c.
voltage

spark
gap

100F

Fig. 8.3
(i)

The field strength is 3 106 V m1 when the voltage reaches 270 V. Calculate the
separation of the electrodes in the spark gap. Assume that the field is uniform.

[2]
(ii)

Calculate the energy stored in the capacitor when the voltage across it is 270 V.

energy = ................................................ J [2]

2865/01 Jun06
[Turn over

www.XtremePapers.net

For
Examiners
Use

20
(iii)

The energy stored in the capacitor is transferred to the transformer in 10 ms.

Calculate the average power supplied to the transformer during the transfer.

a ve ra ge powe r = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W [2 ]
(c)

Suggest and explain one application where short electrical pulses of very high voltage
would be necessary.

[2]
[Total: 12]
Q ua lity of W ritte n C ommunic a tion [4 ]
END OF QUESTION PAPER

Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every reasonable
effort has been made by the publisher (OCR) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the publisher will be
pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.
OCR is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of Cambridge Local Examinations
Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.
2865/01 Jun06

www.XtremePapers.net